Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
Two Iranian Supreme Court judges who handled espionage and terrorism cases were killed in an attack at the court’s headquarters, according to Iran’s judiciary. The attack took place Jan. 18 in Tehran.
The dead were identified as Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh. A third judge was also wounded in the attack, which took place at Tehran’s Palace of Justice. A bodyguard was reported wounded.
The press service of Iran’s judiciary reported that an armed man had “infiltrated the Supreme Court in a planned act to assassinate two judges.”
Initial investigations found that the attacker did not have a case before the court, nor any other connections, the judiciary’s press service reported.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Iran, with its head appointed by the supreme leader. Headquartered in Tehran, it has branches throughout the country.
Details of the incident or the attacker’s motive remain unclear. The judiciary’s press service reported that the attacker “quickly committed suicide” after the shooting, although this has not been confirmed.
Other Iranian media reports stated that the perpetrator was a member of an “infiltrating security force” who first wounded a bodyguard with a knife, seized their weapon, and then carried out the assassinations.
Both men held significant positions in Iran’s powerful judicial system. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh had presided over numerous political trials, including cases involving supporters of the 2009 opposition Green Movement. He was under sanctions from both the European Union and the United States for human rights violations.
Razini had served in many high-profile positions in the judiciary and had been accused by Iran’s opposition of being involved in a series of extrajudicial killings of political prisoners in 1988.
In 1998, when he was serving as chief justice of Tehran, Razini was wounded in a bomb attack while leaving his workplace.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
